Break of Reality
by deejaymcknight
Summary: Slight AU of the main story. Maya is captured instead of Lilith during the attack on BNK3R. This story will follow the events that take place leading up to, and after her rescue. Slight implied Maya/Lilith leading up to actual Maya/Lilith.
1. Chapter 1

So I noticed there weren't many Siren squared fics and I figured I'd write one so..here we go. I own nothing, by the way.

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Lilith hasn't changed out of the blood soaked clothing she'd been wearing when she phase shifted out of BN3KR. No. She sat at the Crimson HQ and stared at the wall while fights erupted around her. Brick, Axton and Salvador wanted to go in guns blazing, Zero and Mordecai wanted to plan something methodically. She waited to hear what Roland or Maya had to say and then realized she would not be hearing from them. The blood on her shirt belonged to Roland and Maya? Well she pushed Lilith out of the way when she saw the collar Jack had in his hand which caused her powers to remain unfocused and sent her back to Marcus' instead of the throttle she'd been ready to give that half plastic prick. She couldn't believe it. They were gone. The two most important people in her life were gone, one never to be seen again and the other being tortured for something that should have been her burden to bare. /She/ was the one acting out of impulse. /She/ was the one the collar had been meant for. Not Maya. Explosive, sarcastic Maya who could be found in some random corner of Sanctuary with some tattered book opened in her lap while her gun rested beside her. The serious blue haired girl who was the ice queen to her fire hawk and yet they danced around a battlefield like they'd been partners their entire life. Everyone envied them, and not for the usual insane level of powers that they possessed. No. It was their partnership. Each of the vault hunters had their counterpart. Both old and new and while the others were based upon skill alone, the two women seemed the share a different connection. A deeper level than just being the same 'species'. That same connection was what caused Maya to push her out of the way and take the metaphorical bullet. And it was that same connection that had her mind turning about ways to get her home safe and sound. Or at least in one piece.

"Can you all shut the hell up? I'm trying to think here." She finally spoke up, the men in the room seeming almost startled after not hearing her for so long. When they quieted down she took a breath and nodded. "Thank you. Now. Fighting has obviously gotten us nowhere, and we need to get Maya back. She isn't safe with Jack but we know that he's going to keep her alive. It's not like Siren's are in high supply." She laughed darkly, devoid of humor as she shook her head. "I'm gonna shower, change and when I get back here. I expect at least some sort of cooperation between all of you. That's one of us in there."

Everyone seemed to agree with this idea as Lilith stepped out of the planning and made her way through the streets of Sanctuary; trying in vain to ignore the looks of pity thrown her way. Everyone had known of Roland's demise and Maya's capture. They also knew that this made her the Crimson's defacto leader (whether she liked it or not). How she sorely missed the days of being a false God to a bunch of pyromaniacs. That time was long over now, though but she didn't regret it. The end of her 'reign' was met with Maya, and you wouldn't find her complaining about that one bit. She had someone who understood her, truly in every sense of the word. Someone who understood the rush of the glowing ink that littered holed body, and the way that it drained you when you were over exerted. Someone who knew what it was like to travel alone, even if you had people with you. Before she had a chance to reach the place she, Maya and Gaige had been staying a call came through from Tina. She sighed, not wanting to talk to her but not having the heart to ignore the little girl.

"Tee, what can I do for you?" She asked, trying her best to sound at least remotely cordial.

"Fire Mama! Heard 'bout the Fugly man taking Ice Babe. Wanna blow 'me outta the sky? I tried hittin' up Roland but he's a fool and don't know how to answer!" The girl's voice was as bubbly as ever and Lilith realized something. Whoever told her about Maya didn't say a word about Roland...and she wasn't about to do it over a call.

As she unlocked the door and regarded Gaige with a small nod as she tinkered with her overturned bot, Lilith sighed. "No blowing things up, T. We still have to get Maya back. I'll send Morty out to get you and bring you back to base so you can help us with the plan okay?"

There was a pause, the sound of some things clattering and a minor boom, but Tina soon answered. "Yuppers! Tell him to leave the birdy behind though, biddy. Sir Reginald is allergic to the feathers. I'll see you in a bit, ta!"

Before she had a chance to answer the call disconnected and she let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't quite ready to deal with what would happen when Tina found out about Roland, so she decided her shower would take a little bit longer.

"G! Head down to HQ and tell Mordecai to grab Tina at her place. I'll be around later I have some stuff to take care of." The younger girl popped her head in and nodded, studying the Siren for a moment.

"We're gonna get her back, Lil. Don't worry. I'll see you back there." She left without a response, leaving Lilith to sit and allow herself a breath as she glanced over at the methodically neat belongings that belonged to Maya. The girls always poked fun at her about how anal she could get when it came to cleaning while both of them were slobs and in this moment she wished she could see those eyes narrowed at her in unamusement once more.

"We're coming to get you, My. Just hold on." Her words fell on an empty apartment as she went about going to take a shower and change.

* * *

The first blast of Eridium awoke Maya with a jolt she'd never felt before. It was so bad she actually preferred a shot from an electric Tediore over feeling that again. Why had she played hero again? Why push Lilith out of the way like she had. Oh right. She couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt. Knowing this could have been her, even with the redhead's tolerance to the element now in her veins; she realized this was why she did it.

"Maya, Maya, Maya. I figured you'd have a little more fight in you!" She knew that voice all too well and it made her stomach churn. Jack. He was there and as her vision refocused she saw him not five feet away. "Come after me, I dare ya." He almost sneered, his plastic like face grinning at her as she stared back at him.

She lunged, or tried to. Not only was she being held in place but the collar now on her sent a shock through her body that would have dropped her to her knees had she not been cemented in place. This brought a laugh from the man, his hand gripping at her top tightly to pull her head closer. "This is what you get when you fuck with the best, little girl. I'm going to drain you of every last ounce of power you have. Then? I'm gonna make you kill each and every last one of your little friends. And the ? Oh I'm looking forward to this part. I'm gonna put a bullet in your brain. Sound good? Yeah. It does." With that he let her top go and walked off, disappearing and leaving her alone with her thoughts.

She wanted to cry, scream for help, something. It was no use though and she knew that. Instead she let her head drop between her shoulders and her eyes close, a slow breath leaving her lips.

"I hope you guys have a plan."

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Review even if you hate it. Chapter 2 coming soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to those who are showing interest in this story, it means the world to me. Sorry for the long delay, had some medical issues these past few weeks.

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It was well after dark when Lilith returned to headquarters, her mind just a little bit clearer. The moment she stepped through the door she paused, her hearing tuning out the rambling of Tannis walking back and forth but instead focusing on the upper level of the building. No fighting. She heard sound, but there was no arguing. "Well I'll be damned, they actually listened to me." The words were meant for herself but the doctor paused in her pacing to look up as if she'd been spoken to.

"Lilith! When did you leave? I don't remember seeing you walk out. Regardless! Everybody is upstairs and from what I've been able to hear when I pass the steps, they're taking bids to see who is the most likely to dismember Jack with their bare hands. I do believe you're winning ten to one. The stakes could've raised, I was distracted by...oh what was it?"

And just like that she was gone, walking back to her desk with another series of word that Lilith wouldn't have been able to understand if she sat the woman down and flipped through a dictionary at the same time. She knew the doctor felt the loss of Roland, but she dealt with it in a different way than everyone else. Instead of seeking blood she looked into science, she would figure out a way to inflict pain on the man who had taken their leader from them somehow; they would just have to wait a little while for it.

Climbing up the stairs she heard the failed whisper of Brick, a man who couldn't whisper if you paid him a million dollars in cold hard cash. He'd probably heard Tannis' announcement of her arrival and decided today wouldn't be the day he got his ass kicked by a girl he could snap in half with a decent hug. It caused her to smirk, not a smile but something that could faintly resemble one to the untrained eye. There was nothing to be happy about right now, but having the little things like that around sure did help.

"Ten to one, huh. Thought it'd at least be twenty by now." She announced her own presence in the room as everyone turned and regarded her like skags in a set of headlights. "Relax. Tell me what you've got so far." She hopped onto one of the desks, legs folding one on top of the other as she leaned back and listened to the plan that had been concocted. There were some things standing in their way, not to mention the key couldn't have been charged that quickly and unfortunately for all of them; that was the only way they'd know for sure where Maya was...wherever the Warrior was to be summoned, the Siren was sure to be.

The rest of the team delegated what they would be doing to get them to the vault and for the first time in a long time, Lilith felt useless. There was nothing for her to do, not really. Everything was grunt work, things that the guys could do, that Gaige and her bot could handle; no work for the Siren. It was probably better this way, she needed time to get stronger, to build her skills to fight once more. They were going to confront Jack and she'd be he one to end him. For Roland. And for Maya.

So as night quickly fell upon Pandora, she found herself lurking around the perimeter of a bandit camp. She could hear them all sitting around, playing cards and enjoying their night; innocent dupes in her training session. The purple rock in her hand felt heavy, rapidly growing weaker as she drained it of every drop it had in it until it glowed no more. Letting it clatter to her feet she moved silently to the entrance and took a breath, feeling her powers surge to their maximum as she phased herself into the center of the camp and let off her explosion, obliterating everything in her immediate vicinity. The Firehawk was back, with a vengeance.

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At this point, Maya had grown used to the Eridium surges every few hours, it didn't even register to her at this point. She wasn't aware if it was day or night, how long she'd been in the position she was in or how many hours of sleep she was even getting anymore. It wasn't like she had been getting very much before this but now it was even worse. Whenever her eyes_ did _manage to close, they'd shoot open soon after at the whim of Jack's amusement. A loud sound filling the chamber, an electricity element getting thrown into the mix just to shock her awake via the collar holding her like a dog, whatever he felt like doing. They had thought he was a psychopath before this? They had no idea just how ape shit he really was.

It had been a few hours now though. She remembered him saying something about behaving, that he had something to check on something and that he would be back. He promised food if she made an improvement with the key, even if she had no fucking idea what that meant. It wasn't like a download, there wasn't a screen that told her the percentage of done she was charging the damn thing. She wasn't even hungry either, the element pumping through her veins left her stomach in a constant state of nauseous and the mere thought of food sent it lurching and dry heaves to escape her body. Jack probably knew that and used it as yet another tool of his mental anguish against the Siren.

Her eyes closed as the most recent surge faded from her body and allowed her the downtime with her thoughts that she had been waiting for. She remembered Angel contacting her via her ECHO as she and the guys traversed Pandora and how they never seemed to be affected whenever a message came through. "It was the Siren connection." She spoke into the empty room as the idea hit her like a brick to the face. She wasn't sure how it worked, but if she was getting them then she could only assume that Lilith could receive one from her. Maybe it was like the redhead's phasewalk, but through the mind as opposed to a physical thing. If she focused hard enough, she could make the connection and at least tell her she was okay.

She wished she had information as to where she was, or what was going to happen, but if she could get the message across then maybe she'd be able to do it again once the key was charged before Jack made her do something she would never be able to go through with. The Eridium heightened her powers tenfold, the tattoos that once glowed now almost burning as she flared up her synapses and honed in on her thoughts of the elemental counterpart she'd come to know as her only connection to a world she felt all too disconnected from.

'_I don't even know if you're getting this message and I have no idea if you'll even be able to respond but if Angel was able to do it connected to this thing...maybe I can too. I'm alive, Lil. He's keeping me alive til this key is charged and then he has some pretty fucked up plans in the works. I don't know where I am, I don't know where he's keeping me but I'm gonna keep trying to get through to you. Please...come find me. Don't give up on me, I need you._'

Her head was pounding as soon as her eyes opened again, breath coming in pants from the overexertion of parts she'd never used before. If the message went through then maybe she had a chance, if it didn't...there was a part of her that knew even without it her fellow Siren wouldn't stop the search until she was found once more.

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Lilith surveyed the destruction around her as she drained another rock of it's juice and grinned in approval. Not only had they not seen her coming, but they didn't stand a chance even once she had made herself known. As she pocketed the cash, spare ammo and whatever else she could carry to sell back at Sanctuary, a familiar sound rang through her communicator. White haze was soon filled with a blue blur and when the blue cleared she stopped dead in her tracks. _Maya. _It was how Angel had communicated with her once upon a time and somehow the other woman had figured out how to do it.

Her blood ran cold, drained Eridium rock dropping from her palm as she listened, nodding as if she could be seen. Swallowing hard she released a breath she didn't realize she was holding as the message faded out, tears threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away quickly, even if there was no one around she would be damned if she cried now. Maya needed her strong, she had never heard the other woman plead the way that she had and that gave her all the more reason to grow a pair and step up to get her home and safe once more.

Under an hour later she was peeling away from the bandit camp towards a fast travel station, storming through Sanctuary and into HQ to see everyone perched around the table as they had been before setting off for their individual assignments. Each face looked up at her when she walked in, silent as they waited for her to speak.

"She's still alive. I saw her."

A chorus of voices rung out, asking where and how but Lilith ignored them. "Morty, remember how I used to say there was a girl talking to me? When we were looking for the first vault?" The man lounging on the other side of the room nodded, allowing her to continue. "Maya did it. I think it's a thing between Siren's. She said that Angel used to do it to her too. It's like...telepathic voicemail or something. Whatever. But she's alive. She called out to me. She needs us." Turning her attention to the rest of the group she ran her fingers along the curl of her hair for a moment. "Tell me we're close to _something_?" Sitting against one of the desks she listened to each of the teams that had been sent out as they reported back what they had or what they were working on. She felt a pair of eyes on her, burning almost and it was making her uncomfortable. The soldier. Axton. Reminded her far too much of the Roland she'd first met (and hated) back in their days as amateur Vault Hunters.

The blonde man had been quiet this whole time, arms crossed over his chest and staring. Her jaw tightened and her gaze snapped to him, the room falling silent.

"Can I help you, Turret boy?" She snapped, cocking a brow in his direction, already unamused with his attitude towards the whole thing, much less towards her.

"I don't see why we're doing this. What're we going off of? A 'vision' of some chick so hopped up on 'ridium that she might as well be glowing fucking purple? If I was leadi-"

That was all she needed.

"If you were leading, what? We'd already have her back? How would you do that? Why don't you share your plan."

When he remained silent she pushed herself off of the desk she'd been leaning against and crossed the room, the people in her way moving quickly to get out of the line of fire. Everyone there had seen what the wrath of a Siren really looked like, last thing they wanted was to be in the middle of it.

"You don't have one! There _is _no plan. We don't know where Jack's keeping her, and I can tell you right now we won't be finding out any time soon. How long did it take us to figure out where Angel was? And that was with her full knowledge of the damn planet! Maya's out there by herself, trapped and it's up to us to find her. She's alive, that's what we know and that's what we're going off of."

She stood nose to nose with the man, eyes locked with his as her hand curled up in a fist.

"The _only _reason I'm leading this is because it's what Roland would want. And because as of right now? I'm the only link we've got to her. Now I get that you're pissy because you can't play the hero of the day but I'm gonna need you to step the hell back and be a team player for once in your damn life. Before I end it prematurely. Dig?"

He was quiet and a large hand came to rest on her shoulder, Brick standing silently behind her. A breath left her nose, eyes closing as she pulled away and turned to leave the room.

"Keep up what you guys are doing. When Maya finds out where she is, we'll know. And we'll be ready for her." She didn't say anything else, just walked out and made her way back to her way too empty apartment. Dropping onto her bed when she arrived she closed her eyes. The sound of Maya's voice and the words '_I need you._' resounding in her head long after her eyes closed.

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I took some liberties with the whole ECHO communicator thing so it would make a little bit more sense within this story. I know that every character gets the messages regardless of the class but for this I wanted it to be a Siren only thing (if that makes sense). And I'm sorry to any Axton fans, but I had to make him just a little bit douchy (someone had to take the bullet!). Next chapter is the Warrior battle and then from there it'll get interesting. Thanks for reading, review even if you hated it.


	3. Chapter 3

Stay tuned for an author's note. Thanks for reading, I own nothing as usual.

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Stepping over the remains of the lackies that Jack had thrown at them, Lilith made a face and reloaded her SMG. Everything had gone somewhat smoothly (aside from those terrifying few minutes where she thought she lost Brick and Morty). Axton and Krieg were going to hold off anyone who decided to follow into the place they'd come to know as "The Vault of the Warrior." The Siren was hopped up on Eridium for this fight, maximizing her damage output to inflict the most pain she possibly could in this final leg.

"Z, how's your shoulder?" She asked, getting some haiku in response as per usual. She took it as he was okay and turned her attention to the youngest member of their team who was fussing over her hulking death machine of a best friend. Gaige looked alright for all intents and purposes; much more concerned with Deathtrap than herself.

"Gaige, take this. I'd rather not have you come out of this needing two robotic arms. That gash looks nasty." She tossed a healing hypo to the girl who just nodded and administered it quietly. Salvador was leaning against a rock, trying to stop the bouncing excitement that coursed through his tiny body from the fight they just endured. She always could trust the little man to come through guns quite literally blazing.

"Lil, you're good to go?" She heard Gaige speak up once her robot was repaired. She turned her attention to the girl and nodded a little bit, going through the motions of checking her other guns for ammo count and such. She didn't want to think about herself right now, she would be fine when Maya was safe, and until then she wasn't even sure she could process a coherent thought other than '_don't die_'. It hadn't been long since the other Siren was taken and from the last communication they'd shared she was still alive...weaker by the minute but alive. The key was in it's final phases and she was about to be moved; which was what gave them the exact location with the overly ominous name. Lilith didn't know what 'The Warrior' was, but she wasn't looking forward to making it's acquaintance.

What she _was_ looking forward to was ripping that hideous mask off Jack's face and putting a bullet directly between his eyes. That's what was keeping her going. That and the idea of Maya safe again. She'd face a million engineers, blow up an endless supply of loaders, do whatever she had to do to make sure the blue haired woman was back in her line of sight in one piece.

Reloading her last gun she shouldered it and made a motion for the three to follow her into the cave entrance with a heavy breath. She'd faced worse foes than 'Handsome' Jack, it was this Warrior entity that was making her uneasy. Unknown variables always made her a little bit nervous.

As soon as they hit the clearing of the cave, it was like being hit by a bandit technical. The Eridium being used to drain Maya and power the key could be felt by the other Siren from here, which made her certain that they were in the right place...if the hovering blue haired woman surrounded by a purple aura wasn't a big enough clue. The moment her eyes caught sight of what was happening her feet took off without her, full speed towards the cliff that would lead them to the path and further to Jack and Maya.

She heard someone yell '_So much for a plan!_' from behind her and the whir of Deathtrap coming to life but she didn't stop to look back or even slow down. It wasn't until she was at the platform did she stop, eyes jumping between Jack and her fellow Siren a few times. The prick was speaking, another one of his pain in the ass monologues that she chose to completely ignore as usual until he started to come after them.

"Big mistake, Jack." She snarled, a sick grin coming over her face as she phasewalked towards him, sending an explosion of elements in his direction before rushing back and unholstering her gun. The clapping of other weapons filled the valley, all focused on the man that had put them all through way too much pain to still be walking on this planet.

He looked like he was ready to topple, bloody and limping but that's when a sound rung out that stopped Lilith's heart for a moment. The key. They'd gotten so wrapped up, no one tried to stop it from doing what it was doing.

"No! The key is charged!" Maya's voice bounced down in a cry, the redhead staring up in horror as it locked together and the girl fell to the ground with a hard thud. A shield flashed into view over Jack, Maya and the key itself as soon as he pressed it into the ground and a growl could be heard from beneath the ground. Everything shook for a moment before 'The Warrior' revealed itself and a cold chill ran through Lilith's body. This was it, this was the fight of their lives and dammit would it be a tough one.

With Jack out of the way for now, it was easier to focus on the beast, Deathtrap going after the raaks that filled the valley with the occasional laser directed towards the looming monster. It took alot out of them to bring it down but watching that pile of rock crumble into the lava was hands down the most beautiful sight that any of them had ever witnessed. Lilith's hands went to her knees as she watched it drop, breath coming out in aching pants as she tried to catch up to her body and help it come down from the over powering display of abilities it had put on.

"The moonshot. Lil, make sure it's dead." Maya's voice broke into her thoughts and she nodded, slamming her fist down on the button with gusto. A few seconds later the explosion rocked her entire body but that was it. The beast was done, now it was time to deal with Jack. He began to speak again, but her attention wasn't on him, it was on the slowly standing Maya. She was hunched over, blue hair covering her face moreso than ever as she hugged herself and failed to stand up straight.

"Would you shut the fuck up, _please_?" Lilith spat, pulling her pistol out and sinking a shot directly between the prattling man's eyes. His body crumbled and she holstered her weapon, rushing over to keep Maya standing. An arm wrapped around her neck, a tight hug between the two as they stood there in silence. The other three made themselves scarce as they collected the loot scattered around the platform to bring back to HQ and split amongst the team.

Both women shared a sigh of relief, embracing one another even with the sweltering temperature of the lava around them. Both had been longing for this touch (even if they wouldn't outright admit it to anyone), both longed to see the other one again and here they were.

"Found ya." Lilith murmured, earning a soft laugh against her shoulder as she pressed her lips to Maya's temple. "You alright, May?" She asked, pulling back so she could look at the other girl and still help her stand up a bit.

Maya stayed quiet for a moment, looking around at the team as they all gathered and compared items. Just like normal. That was a word she never thought she'd use again, _normal_. During her less than inviting stay with Jack nothing was normal and as much as she wished it hadn't happened...she could feel her hope slipping away with every pump of Eridium or zap of that stupid fucking collar. It was over now though, Lilith was here, the team was here and Jack was dead.

"I'll be fine. Can we just get out of here? I'm dying for some pizza." She tried to smirk but failed, feeling her exhaustion hit her full speed. She leaned heavily on Lilith, her head falling to her shoulder once more. The redhead wasted no time, scooping the girl into her arms carefully before nodding towards the fast travel station.

"Guys, I'm gonna get her back to Sanctuary. I expect my cut to be just as good as yours. And Morty! Hands off that sniper rifle. That's Maya's." The man chuckled and nodded, shouldering the gun with a call over that he'd bring it back to base and spec it up for the slightly unconscious girl.

Lilith's legs burned just slightly as she walked to the fast travel and put in their destination. The weight on her shoulder lifted for a moment and she stood up straight when she felt a soft brush of lips against her jaw with a murmured '_thank you_'. Soon the weight was replaced and a grin split across her face as the two were on their way back home.

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AN: I'm so sorry that this took as long as it did, but I was having trouble figuring out how I wanted to handle this chapter. I don't like doing things straight from a game, show, movie etc but it needed to happen. If you've played the Warrior battle; then you know that reading an entire chapter about it would be boring so I minimized it alot.

Also, from here the story will get better; this is what I actually wanted to write in the first place but I figured a bit of preface would work better than just jumping right in. Thanks again for reading and stay tuned! Also, sorry for any errors I missed, I'm not on my regular computer so spellcheck, grammar check, etc isn't available.


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